HELiPOD from TU Braunschweig: Innovative fight against climate change!

HELiPOD from TU Braunschweig: Innovative fight against climate change!

Did you know that the Technical University of Braunschweig helps monitor the state of agriculture in Italy with its HELiPOD? The innovative measuring system takes part in a campaign by the European Space Agency (ESA) dedicated to detecting drought and heat stress in plants. This project shows how technical solutions can make a difference in agriculture.

The HELiPOD is a flexible measurement system that combines different techniques to collect valuable data. Direct measurements on the ground are used in fields of tomatoes, corn and clover, while drones and a research aircraft take aerial measurements at the same time. These measurements, such as fluorescence, temperature, wind, methane and ozone, provide crucial information about the behavior of plants under extreme conditions. The first surveys began in May 2025, when the plants were still young and the weather conditions appeared friendlier.

An important goal of ESA

At ESA, which also runs its own climate office, this data is used not only to monitor vegetation, but also to develop long-term data sets that document climate change. This information is an essential tool for the international community to implement measures to stabilize the climate. Measurements from space play a central role in observing our planet and making informed decisions for a sustainable future ESA explained.

ESA's ongoing efforts, together with leading European research teams, aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of the key components of the climate system. This is made possible by technologies such as the Sentinel satellites, which collect data on various environmental factors on a daily basis. These findings are important not only for scientists, but also for agriculture and other economic sectors affected by climate change.

Collaboration and challenges

In this collaboration, the Copernicus program, with an investment of over 3.2 billion euros, plays a central role by using satellite technology to carry out continuous data collection about our Earth. Over 30 percent of the funding for this ESA program comes from Germany. Given the ever-increasing global temperatures and the challenges they bring, it is important that such projects are supported.

The HELiPOD project is not only a technical achievement, but also an important step towards climate protection and smart agriculture. Efforts to monitor the health of our environment and enable early responses could become critical to the future of agriculture. If such technologies are used successfully, it could have positive effects on our food production and sustainability in general.

In conclusion, the combination of classic research and cutting-edge technology can have a significant impact on addressing the challenges of climate change. So while we monitor research progress, it is to be hoped that such initiatives will be quickly put into practice. This is definitely a step in the right direction for our plants and the global environment!